Education India Project #14924

Excellent education for 175 kids in Hyderabad!!

by Teach For India

Excellent education for 175 kids in Hyderabad!!

Project Report | Jul 21, 2014
Our Fellow raises her children to be Gladiators!!

By Naga Kriti Nanduru | Development Manager

The Gladiators!!

Hi there,

Thank you for your support on the Microsoft Youth Spark Day!! I am excited to share that we have been selected as Global Giving’s Project of the Month!!

Today, let’s meet Meghana talk about her experience as a Teach For India fellow.

“I wanted to make a difference. I was as prepared as one could ever be to make this world a better place. Along with all the strength and hope I could muster I walked into a community where violence was so prevalent that there was a police patrol parked outside the school every day. I entered a school with no electricity, basic sanitation or even water supply. I walked into a class room of second graders who have never had a teacher before. I entered the classroom with an illusion that I was fighting against educational inequity. Little did I know I would be facing kids who are helplessly battling the consequences of some of the most intricate problems of the world on a daily basis. Even before I knew it I was in over my head trying to deal with the issues and repercussions of poverty, domestic violence, gender bias, alcoholism, physical violence and sexual abuse.

There are very few instances as heartbreaking as meeting a seven year old who is absolutely convinced that the world, as he sees it, is biased against him. It is absolutely agonizing to discover that the child has no hopes or dreams or even the slightest belief in the possibility of a better future. Being a teacher here meant more than just providing the children with excellent education. It meant fighting to create a safe space for the children to hope, grow and believe in themselves. It meant opening up their hearts to all the amazing possibilities the world has to offer. It meant being that one constant source of support, inspiration and strength for them no matter what they are going through. It meant mending their slashed knees along with their disinterested hearts.

This is when, as kids always do, they surprise you. Once they felt safe they let their resilience shine through. It is amazing to see how quickly the same hands that once fought, start to share.

It is absolutely beautiful to see the kids strive day after day to be better. This is what drives us to be there for them day after day to help them grow into the most amazing human beings that they can be. I personally believe that the most important part of what we do as is not just to impart these kids with the knowledge or education. It is in fact to create these aspirations, successes, hopes and joys. It is to inspire them to get better with each passing day, to guide them to grow into kind and responsible citizens of the world.

I dream of my kids being the gladiators of change that the world needs. I envision them continuing fighting their battles but with a sense of purpose and morality. I dream of a day when they make socio-economic issues like gender bias, domestic violence and such obsolete.

I do believe that this is the most crucial part of what we as fellows at Teach for India do.

We pour our blood, sweat and tears into raising our children to be gladiators.”

The Gladiators at their reading corner

The kids showing their classroom wall

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Jun 25, 2014
Back to School - Meet our Global Citizens

By Naga Kriti Nanduru | naga.kriti@teachforindia.org

The kids reflecting on visiting a blind school

Greetings from Teach For India!!

We are back to school - and are entering our third year of operations in Hyderabad. We have been with these children for three years now, and are amazed to see the growth in our children.

Hearing it straight from Meghana, the proud teacher of these children.....

'I would like to share with you the story of Asif. Asif lost his mother at the age of five and dropped out of school in first grade after severe physical abuse. On the insistence of his grandmother he joined my second grade class midway last year. He started off as the most defiant kid of my class. He made no friends, repeatedly disobeyed all rules of the class and got into fights with older kids in the school. One day during the course of the class Asif had attempted to answer a question and I lifted my hand to offer him a hi five to celebrate his attempt. To my surprise the boy involuntarily cringed assuming I was going to hit him. That was the day I sensed his inner fears that he tried to hide beneath his disobedient facade. Over the next few weeks I worked persistently to bond with Asif and to gain his trust. A year later, Asif is now the most kind and resilient child I’ve ever seen. He has developed a great interest in reading and writes amazing short stories. He loves to build and dance in his free time.

I am Meghana Devineni a fellow at Teach for India. I am the proud teacher of 37 kids just like Asif, each one of them unique in their own right. I joined the fellowship right after completing my Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Growing up I was always critical about the way education is perceived, practiced and perpetrated in our country. My skepticism about the credibility of our educational system was validated after I moved away for my undergraduate studies. I decided that I need to do more than criticise, I decided to act upon it.

I took up the fellowship to work towards ending educational inequity. I joined the fellowship with the assumption that I will be teaching these little children but over the past year I’ve realised that I have learnt as much from them as they have from me. I have seen what it really means to be resilient. I have experienced what it really means to be committed to a goal and to work towards it relentlessly day after day. I have learnt what it really means to hope against all hope and to truly believe that with all our efforts one day these kids will grow up to be bright and responsible citizens of the world.

* Name changed to protect the identity of the beneficiaries.

On June 25^th, Microsoft is celebrating ‘Youth Spark Day’. On that day, Microsoft will match all the funds Teach for India Hyderabad raises with 100% of their own through Global Giving – an online fundraising platform.

We would like to raise $10,000 for our city and we need your help to make this possible. Even if each of you is able to raise $100 that night, we will reach our target.

Request you to please support us and spread the word.

The kids enjoy learning!!

Learning with Manipulatives

Celebrating Success in the classroom

Children in the Classroom

Asif reads in differentiated groups..

We love learning!!

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Apr 30, 2014
Meet our Global Citizens from GPS Gandhinagar, Hyderabad!

By Lavanya M | Development Associate

Our Superkids from GPS, Gandhinagar

Greetings from Teach For India!

As we are ready to induct our sixth cohort of fellows in Teach For India for the next academic year, we bring to you a story from Government Primary School, Gandhinagar at Hyderabad.

Zuha Moin, after finishing her graduation in International Affairs from George Washington University decided to join Teach For India Fellowship in 2012. Her class of 28 children studying in 4th grade proudly call themselves Superkids. The school is located in Patigadda and Prakash Nagar area in Hyderabad. Most of their parents are from low-income communities in the vicinity and work as drivers, watchmen and construction workers, etc.

This is what Zuha has to say about her students who she has been teaching for the last two years,

"When I came into the classroom in July 2012, I envisioned that by the end of my two years as their teacher, my students would become global citizens. They would be aware of different cultures and would have an interest in current events. One project we did combined a chapter in our EVS textbook on houses and different cultures. Each group was given information on a type of house lived in by a group of people. They had to construct the house and then had to give a presentation on why the people live in this kind of a house.

By the end of my two years, I am glad that my students have now become global citizens. They watch the news every evening, and come back to class with an interesting story they heard on the news. I have seen the students from not knowing anything outside of their homes to becoming students who critically think about current events."

We at Teach For India believe that every child deserves an excellent education and this is possible only if we dream and act together. We will need your continued support till we achieve our target goal. Until then, help us by spreading the word and supporting our project.

*Name changed to protect the identity of the beneficiaries.

Priya* and her group's project - Tree House

Students with their acting coaches from Samahaara

Links:

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